The Hancock parking off the Kank's hairpin turn (RT-112) has beautiful views of the Osceolas. Take a set of stairs back down to the road and cross to reach the trailhead.
You spend most of the day in the woods except for a nice view just off the summit of North Hancock. In summer most climb up the steeper Southern Peak first on an erroded and tough trail,and then over a 1.4 mile long ridge to the Northern summit which has nice views. In winter most do the opposite so they can glissade down the South peak! This is debatedly the best Swiss Bob run on a White Mountain trail
THE TRAILHEAD
Right at the Hairpin turn is Hancock Notch Trail which is a nice flat wooded hike to Cedar Brook Trail. You can stay on Hancock Notch which takes you to the Sawyer River road. Cedar Brook has several brook/stream crossings which can be difficult in high water. I've hiked it twice in spring and we were able to find crossings fairly easily. On a January hike we had difficulty with ice bridges being too thin. The long mostly flat hike finally connects to the Hancock Loop Trail over the summits. You could also take Cedar Brook all the way to The Wilderness Trail.
THE MOUNTAINS
South Hancock-4,319'
The South Peak is completely wooded with few views. There is a very good outlook nearby. The hike up the summit cone is steep and can be wet and slippery on rocks and roots. The ridge connecting it to the North Peak has moderate rises and a couple of ups and downs to each summit.
North Hancock-4,420'
The North Peak has had some blowdowns near it's summit (thanks somewhat to the great ice storm of 1998.) Nearby there is an excellent rocky outlook with extensive views of the Pemigewassett Wilderness. North Hancock is also known as one of the finest Swiss Bob runs from a 4K peak.
